Bosnian Family Finds Home In Va.'s Shenandoah Valley

January 10, 1997|By Daily News-Record

BRIDGEWATER — They won't talk about the war. It's too painful and the politics too convoluted.

Hatija and Fikret Begic lived in refugee camps in Bosnia for 18 months before the Croatian government told them they could immigrate to the United States. They consider themselves lucky for having to wait only a few months; some have been waiting for years.

Now they also feel lucky to be living - and talking about their new life - in the Shenandoah Valley.

It was Nov. 27 when the Begics and their 14-month-old son, Tarik, arrived in Bridgewater and moved into an apartment on the second floor of a house owned by the Bridgewater Church of the Bretheren.

Hatija, 25, the youngest of six siblings, said she misses her family and friends in Bosnia.

``(I miss) home, yes. But not war,'' she says, waving her index finger.

Bridgewater may be something like Velika Kladusa, the town where Hatija and her husband lived in Bosnia. Both are mountainous and rural. But their life here stands in stark contrast to the life they left behind.

The first refugee camp the Moslem couple called home had no electricity and running water was a five-minute walk away. They lived in a tent they made from wood and plastic and one camp phone had to be shared among 22,000 people.

Hatija's father made a three-story hut from wire and trees - a home that was, at one point, filmed by Cable News Network. American peacekeeping forces visited the refugee camp on occasion, bringing food and large containers of bottled water.

The Begics lived in that refugee camp for a year before they were moved to a second camp, which offered better living conditions. For six months, the Begics lived in a one-room house with another couple who had a child.

When they were notified they had received clearance to leave for the United States, they had just five days to prepare. Hatija and Fikret were bittersweet about leaving, they say; happy to be leaving the turmoil, but sad to be saying goodbye to relatives and friends.

Meanwhile, Hatija is hoping her parents and her sister, who applied a few months ago for refugee status, will be able to immigrate here soon.

Being allowed to immigrate to the United States ``is kind of like the lottery,'' said Almir Camdzic, a Bosnian who immigrated to Harrisonburg as a refugee nearly two years ago.

``If you get lucky, you can come here in one month,'' he said. It is easier for those who ``have lost everything.''

Here, the Catholic Church of the Blessed Sacrament is also sponsoring the Begics, helping pay their medical expenses and rent, driving them to and from twice-weekly English classes and rounding up donations of furniture and items they'll need when they move into another home.

Besides the Begic family, four other Bosnian families have moved into this area in the past year, said Jim Herschberger, coordinator for sponsorship development for the Refugee Resettlement Program office in Harrisonburg. In addition to Bosnians, the office has helped resettle 15 other families in the past year - most from the former Soviet Union, a few from Southeast Asia.

The local resettlement office assists those whom the U.S. government has granted refugee status, and families are assigned to the office by the Church World Service and the Virginia Council of Churches.

Hatija said she's uncertain how long they'll be in the area and whether they'll move to Florida where relatives live.

Eventually, the Begics plan to return to Bosnia.

Neither Fikret nor Hatija was able to work when they lived in the refugee camps. In Bosnia, Hatija had worked for a firm that produced pharmaceuticals. Fikret, who is trained as a welder, recently learned he has landed a job with Rocco Foods. The couple has 2+ years to pay back the $1,400 cost of their trip to the U.S.

Although many refugees arrive well-educated, the biggest challenge for them is learning English, Herschberger said.